Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
Part I : Technical Session
1. Remarks on "Science, Technology and Society"
- Prof. Dr. Dayananda Bajracharya 1
2. Role of Science and Technology in Poverty Reduction
- Dr. Shankar Sharma 3
3. Comments:
- Dr. Binayak Bhadra 6
4. Highlights on Science and Technology and Its Role in Today's World
- Prof. Dr. Pramod Kumar Jha 10
5. Comments:
- Prof. Dr. M.B. Gyawali 15
6. Role of MOST with other Ministries and Its Line Agency
- Dr. Shom Pudasani 17
7. Comments:
- Mohan Bahadur Karki 22
Part II : Evaluation & Recommendation
1. General Report 23
2. Recommendations 25
Part III : Annexes
1. Programme 27
2. Inaugural Session
(a) Welcome Address and Highlight of the seminar
By Hon'ble State Minister Mrs. Prativa Rana, State Minister,
Ministry of Science and Technology 29
(b) Inauguration of the Programme by the Chief Guest
Rt. Honble Prime Minister Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba 31
(c) Vote of thanks
Dr. Swoyambhu Man Amatya, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology 33
(d) Remarks and Closing of Ceremony by the Chairman
Hon'ble Minister Mr. Balaram Ghartimagar, Ministry of Science and Technology 34
3. List of Participants 35
2
4. A Glimpse of the Seminar 36
Science, Technology and Society
- Prof. Dr. Dayananda Bajracharya
Science is, in a very fundamental sense, the process of seeking truth. It is a common heritage of mankind. People of all nations have
contributed to its development. Openness, universality, honesty, quality and respect for evidence are important values of scientific
enterprise. It is one of the most remarkable human achievements.
Advances in Science and Technology
In the last century many advances were made in science and technology that will have lasting impact on humanity. Among others,
the 20
th
century will best be remembered as the century in which the atom was split, a relation between matter and energy was
revealed, man defied gravity and landed on the moon, silicon turned into computing power, the Internet was created, antibiotic was
discovered, DNA was spliced and manipulated, test tube babies were born, sheep named Dolly was cloned and human genome was
decoded. While advances in physical sciences changed our view about the genesis of universe, advances made in biological sciences
changed our view about our-selves, our relation with the universe and our place in creation. In the first half of 20
th
century
physicists were revered and feared for what atom could do to the society. Today, such ambivalent feelings are held towards
biologist for what DNA could do.
Growing Pace of Science and Technology
Scientific knowledge is growing at an unprecedented speed. More new information has been generated in the last 30 years than in
the previous 5000 years. Scientific knowledge now doubles every 3-4 years. Similarly, technology is also growing at a galloping pace.
In the 19
th
century it used to take over 50 years for the scientific discoveries to result in new technologies. In the second half of 20
th
century, it was reduced to less than 20 years. Today, the transition from science to technological innovation takes only 5-10 years.
With such explosion in knowledge, the world economies in 21
st
century will increasingly become knowledge-based, with value-
added coming more from knowledge than materials.
Impact of Science and Technology
Advances in scientific knowledge have led to great benefits to humankind. Life expectancy has increased strikingly. Cures have been
discovered for many diseases. Antibiotics alone have saved more human lives than were killed by all the centurys wars combined.
Agricultural output has increased significantly and helped fight hunger. The use of new energy resources has freed humankind from
arduous labor. A number of industrial products and processes have made life more comfortable. Due to progress in transportation
and communication, millions of human beings cross national borders every day and hundreds of millions of written, visual and
sound message are exchanged instantaneously all around the world. There are billions of pages of information in World Wide Web.
With the click of a mouse, individuals around the world can access to them. However, despite many positive achievements in using
science for human benefit, indiscriminate use of scientific advances has at the same time contributed to the production of weapons
of mass destruction, adverse climate change and environmental degradation. There are still no cures for many diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Hunger and poverty still exist in significant parts of the world. Existing
science and technology structure is worsening the divide between rich and poor nations. New advances in biological sciences, such
as cloning, stem cell research and genetic engineering, are confronting our society with more and more complex ethical and moral
questions.
Science, Technology and Development
Science serves as an engine for economic development of a nation. There is a growing consensus among planners and economists
that at least half, if not more, of economic growth of countries is directly attributable to science. In a globalizing knowledge- driven
world of 21
st
century this contribution can only become higher. It is well recognized now that there is a distinct relation between
the scientific capability and economic well-being of a nation. For example, science-rich nations of the north with only 20% of world
population possess 80% of worlds wealth whereas science-poor nations of the south with nearly 80% world population possess
only about 20% of worlds wealth. Poorest fifth of worlds nations hold only 1.4% of world riches whereas some 358 billionaires
from rich countries have wealth equal to the combined income of nearly 2.2 billion people from poor nations. Nearly 4.3 billion
people from 140 states still live in abject poverty. Nearly one billion people have no access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation. According to the late Abdus Salam, a Nobel Laureate, the widening economic gap between rich and poor nations is
basically due to a gap in their scientific capability.
Do Poor Nations Need Science?
Scientific and technological development presents tremendous opportunities for economic growth, poverty reduction, and human
development. Technology not only helps in doing old things in better ways but also demonstrates new ways of doing previously
unimagined things, the technological development - industrial revolution, green revolution, advancement in health sciences,
improvement in transport technology, the fusion of information and communication technology, progress in knowledge and
education - has broken the bounds of cost, time, distance and capability of doing things. These developments have helped to
increase production and productivity of the economy dramatically. However, the dissemination and utilization of technological
development have been uneven and the benefits of these developments have been distributed to the poorer countries, poorly.
Nepal, in a limited way is trying to develop, import and disseminate technology focusing more on poverty reduction. As agriculture
plays a prominent role in reducing poverty, the focus of agricultural development has been on the development and utilization of
improved seed, better irrigation facilities and enhanced soil fertility, as guided by the Agricultural Perspective Plan. To make
research and dissemination complementary to each other, the government, among other components, has also initiated agricultural
research and development fund to be used by the farmers according to their needs and demand.
Nepal has adopted liberal and market oriented policy in importing goods and service and attracting foreign investment to make the
economy competitive and effective. The policy has provided the opportunity for importing, developing and using new technology
by allowing the imports of capital goods and facilitating transfer of technology in an easier manner in the country. In addition,
increasing ODA has helped to bring and adopt newer technology in Nepal.
In a similar manner, Nepal has give emphasis on health, especially to improve overall health of the population and increase
longevity by adopting and disseminating new technologies. Increased focus on education is expected to improve the absorbing
capacity of the people.
One of the problems of technology transfer is the inappropriateness of technology. Technology does not become useful and
sustainable if it is not appropriate. However, if the technology is simple, labour intensive, applicable to small productive units,
carries smaller risk, and suits the country conditions the technology will be more sustainable. In this context, Nepal's effort to
expand bio-gas, micro-hydro and indigenous medicine (aurbed) is commendable.
Technological progress should not be confined to the industrial and mechanical arts. It should also include improvements in
economic organization-perhaps a reform of marketing arrangements, or better incentives for extension workers or better
management of the economy. Furthermore it covers improvements in skill, resulting from formal training or from 'learning by
doing'. These types of changes can also lower average cost sometimes substantially and improves the effectiveness of the program
dramatically.
Keeping in view some of these issues, HMG has prepared and implemented highly focused and prioritized plan (or poverty
reduction strategy) supported by monitoring framework and medium term expenditure framework. Sectoral business plans are also
being prepared and significant progress has also been made in implementing decentralized delivery-involving local bodies, private
sector, NGOs and CBOs and local communities, in implementing and managing service delivery functions. Overall improvement
in the management of the economy combined with the emphasis on technological adoption, development and dissemination are
expected to help expedite the poverty alleviation program of the country. The overall paper can be summarized in the following
heads:
The basic ideas of the power-point presentation are indeed very sound and agreeable, specially as they relate to Science and Technology
Policy. So my comments are simply going to elaborate S&T Policy themes. The promotion, development (R&D), adoption and transfer
of technology are an important consideration. But perhaps it needs to be examined in the context of the demand side and resources
available. Thus, a development strategy based on hydro-power may be quite relevant for our consideration.
The strategy for industrialization through hydro-power development, in the medium term, is likely to be dominated by three broad
thrusts towards integration, which are listed below:
Rural Electrification Initiative
Electric Transportation Systems
Energy Intensive Industries
In addition, as already noted, integration of hydro energy with the development process, also requires a balance between centralised
and decentralised hydroelectricity development. The grid electricity or hydro-energy can form a strong base for the national
development in Nepal. Hydro-electricity may be utilised in Industry to enhance her comparative advantage in exports, and hydro-
electricity can be used in transportation, to reduce the imports of fossil fuels and also to reduce environmental pollution from
internal combustion engines used in vehicles. In agriculture and agro-industrial activities, the integration can take the form of
hydro-electricity use in lift irrigation, food processing, refrigeration, canning and a host of other manufacturing and processing
activities.
Rural Electrification Initiative
One important consideration is related to the strategies of rural industries development and off-farm employment generation. The core
of such a strategy will be that of the agricultural diversification and specialization, which leads to demand for irrigation and transportation
services. The opportunities for agriculture based rural industries also expand with agricultural diversification. The provision of motive
powers in these services and industries create demand for hydro power. However, as has already been pointed out, the expansion of
transport, communication and marketing infrastructures (warehouses, storage facilities) is a highly complementary intervention on the
part of the community, and local government.
The viabilities of rural industries and employment generation are not always guaranteed if local consumption and demand alone are
considered. It has been pointed out else where, that existence of transport and marketing facilities often times play a critical role
in making a success of these enterprises (Bhadra, 1995).
In this context, let us look at the possibilities in the context of rural electricity provisions, as an element of rural industrialization. The
case studies of turbine mills and micro hydro installations indicate that, often times, hard nosed economic analysis has been replaced by
excessive enthusiasm on the part of both entrepreneurs and credit institutions (RECOS, 1993). Such unchecked enthusiasm of course
ultimately leads to unnecessary pessimism about the finance/economics of small hydro technology, and probably does more harm in the
longer term. It may be noted that sound project formulation demands creativity on the part of the entrepreneurs and financiers alike, in
identifying the initiatives needed on both supply and the demand side.
A diverse set of end-uses needs to be designed, such that the small hydro scheme becomes viable, in economic and financial terms. It
should be noted that for a given level of initial outlay/investment in small hydro scheme, the cost-price of a unit of energy, (i.e.
Rs./KWH) is inversely proportional to the load-factor or capacity utilization. In the short run with excess capacity therefore, the more
energy is used, the cheaper its sales-price, is likely to be (primarily because the unutilized capacity has already been paid for). Thus, in
managing the supply and demand for electricity, a good degree of flexibility remains in promoting use of electricity in non-lighting
applications. Thus a multi-pronged approach will be necessary: R&D in various sectors of end-uses, enterprise promotions through easy
credit and effective marketing, and skill and human resources development. Following are some examples, which may have to be made
more elaborate and specific, for implementation.
Science and Technology evolved with evolution of human civilization. Man marched through the Stone Age to bronze, to iron and
to information and technology age. Today, he has emerged as a mighty species because he developed science and technology.
The industrial setting started after 1850. The simple appearing technologies today were the seeds of industrial revolution. For
example: The Singer Sewing Machine became available in 1851, the bicycle without ball bearings started in 1877 and pneumatic
tyres in 1888; Benz motorized tricycle run at 7 miles / h in 1978; Light weight high speed petrol engine was invented in 1885, etc.
Today, we talk about human cloning, new sources of energy, life at other planets, biotechnology to increase productivity and
control diseases.
There are five major driving spheres that play major roles is designing the present and future of all countries.
(i) Political sphere (to look for peaceful solution to conflicts).
(ii) International sphere (globalization of national economies).
(iii) Technological sphere (emergence of hi-tech information, communication, materials, biotechnology).
(iv) Environmental sphere (global change seems to threaten the system).
(v) Strategic sphere.
Out of these five spheres, technological sphere has emerged as a very strong factor influencing all other spheres.
Success Stories of Countries through Science and Technology
Today, the world is categorized as developed and developing countries. The major basis of this categorization is economy and base
of science and technology. One can see a strong correlation between use of S & T and economy of the country, and all developed
countries have strong base of S & Tit is now evident that the countries that adopted strong S & T policies developed faster. A few
examples are as follows:
Peter was born in 1672 in a royal Tsars family in Russia, and throned at the age of 10. He made several celebrated pilgrimages
to Western Europe. Seeing the effect of technology while there, he was convinced that this would make a positive impact on
the lives of his people at home. Making a determined effort, he sent several of his countrymen to Western Europe to study and
acquire skills. He also brought experts from Western Europe and ensured that these helped to diffuse the technology in Russia.
So great on impact did technology bring into the lives of the people that he earned the veritable title of Peter the Great. He
transformed Russia within a couple of decades (Roberts 1990). It is said that developing countries need many people like Peter
the Great.
Today, Japan is a super economy power. After the second world war, Japan vigorously set policies and programme to import,
acquire and promote manufacturing technologies for the improvement of the economy (Jain 1994).Accordingly, it is said that
between 1956 and 1978 Japan spent about US $ 9 billion to arduously acquire technologies from the USA that cost a
staggering US $ 1 trillion to develop (Abiodun 1994).
India set a clear science policy within the first decade after independence in 1947, and offered a good condition service to scientists,
honored position, and also associated indigenous scientists with formulation of national policies. India has already attained food
sufficiency and became industrial power with impressive manufacturing abilities ranging from computers to satellites and rockets.
Brazil is another economy that has benefited enormously from the fruits of its science and technology efforts. The country has
acquired high tech manufacturing capabilities in air craft and other areas, while it is also building its capacity in new and emerging
technologies, including biotechnology, space technology, computer manufacturing. Indeed, in the manufacturing of certain type of
military helicopters, Brazil also tops the world.
China has also made a tremendous progress in science and technology and developed capabilities today of manufacturing satellites,
electronic equipments, laser and optic technologies, etc. Most of there technologies have been imported from the west, then
modified, internalized and adapted to blend with the indigenous knowledge.
Let me start by appreciating the endeavor of Ministry of Science and Technology for organizing such a important Seminar on
"Science and Technology and It's Role for National Development" and congratulating Professor P.K. Jha for his thoughtful and
lucid presentation of "Highlights of Science and Technology and It's Role in Today's World".
Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Ahmed H. Zewail lis four factors for unsatisfactory pace of progress his developing countries- (a)
high rate of illiteracy reflecting the failure of education system and subsequently resulting in alarming increase in unemployment, (b)
limited use of human resources largely due to hierarchical dominance, strong seniority system and centralization of power all
cumulatively suppressing collective human thought and stifling human potentials, (c) the mix-up of state laws and religious beliefs
causing confusion and chaos through the misuse of religion's fundamental message about the ethical, moral and human ingredients
of life, and (d) lack of coherent vision for science and technology. Let us try to see what type of vision we have in the field of
science and technology. It would be fair to say that modern science entered in our country with the introduction of Intermediate
Science Education in Tri-Chandra College in 1919. Since then, a number of scientific institutions have been established. They
include Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (1977), National Council for Science and Technology (1977, now
dismantled), Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (1982) and Ministry of Science and Technology (1995). We have
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Purbanchal University, Pokhara University, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Science
and National Academy of Medial Science delivering higher education in the area of science and technology. Several government
laboratories and departments such as National Agricultural Research Centre, Department of Forest Survey and Research,
Department of Irrigation, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Department of Plant Resources, Department of Geology
and Mines, Department of Soil Conservation, National Bureau of Standard and Metrology, Food Research Lab, Department of
Wild Life Conservation, Department of Drug Administration etc. have come into existence. Several policies and acts related to
science and technology such as the Five Year Plan (starting from 1956), Industrial Enterprise Ace and Industrial Policy (1992),
Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act (1992), National Science and Technology Policy (1989), Information Technology
Policy (2000), National Biotechnology Policy (forthcoming) and others have also been put forward. Against this background, we
have to ask what is the state of science and technology in our country.
Needless to state that a nation's development and prosperity are judged to a large extent by the status of science and technology of
that country. A scientifically unsophisticated society means virtually underdevelopment in all sectors. This is evident from the fact
that the countries that invest substantially in research and development activities such as Japan (3.12% of GDP), USA (2.65% of
GDP) and others are in the highest echelon of development whereas country such as Nepal that invests just 0.34% of GDP
remains in the lowest ladder of development. Therefore the lawmakers are well advised to increase R/D share of budget pie if
Nepal is to progress fast.
Teaching institutes play a key role in producing well qualified manpower in S/T sectors. What is the state of our teaching, learning
and research activities of our university? There are some good points. Our graduates are internationally sellable in reputed foreign
universities and research institutions which show that we are doing alright in basic teaching. Some of our faculty members are doing
a good piece of research work as evidenced by their publications in journals of international repute. Talking of Tribhuvan
University, research infrastructure of central departments of profusely upgraded, thanks to World Bank assistance despite this,
several issues can be raised. Our Ph.D. program is very weak, without a sound Ph.D. program research cannot be sustained in the
country. Furthermore, programs designed to enhance teacher's ability, motivation and confidence seem to be lacking. Although a
few scholarships for Ph.D. program are available for teachers, it is still a far cry for most of our teachers. A few of our young
teachers are talented and fortunate enough to go to abroad for higher studies. But chances of their return and serve the country
after completion of their studies are becoming more and slimmer. They feel that they cannot quench the thirst of doing innovative
research in their country due to lack of research environment. Some complain that their expertise and skill are not recognized in
there country. Brain drain has become a real problem. The other side of the coin is equally interesting. Young people who have
The paper entitled "Role of the Ministry of Science & Technology with other Ministries and its line Agencies" by Dr. Shom
Pudasaini is indeed a very good attempt.